9 Actions Florida Should Take to Help Taxpayers Impacted by Hurricane Ian

1.     Postpone tax notices and waive penalties or interest for late tax filings in affected areas

2.     Extend the date for residents to take advantage of the tax discounts they would normally receive for paying property taxes and special assessments in November and postpone or defer the deadline for property tax installment payments

3.     Protect individual and business taxpayers from the risks for notices that they will likely not receive because their home or business addresses is not accessible anymore

4.     Issue no new audits in severely impacted areas, extend the statute of limitations and postpone existing audits that haven’t reached the assessment stage because these can’t be responded to while entire communities are still recovering

5.     Create procedures for fairly estimating taxes which can’t be calculated because records have been destroyed by the storm, moving away from the current method which significantly overestimates activity if no records are available

6.     Initiate procedures to offer payment plan assistance for late taxes, rather than resorting to the standard collection methods, like liens, levies, or bank freezes

7.     Retroactively apply the recently passed law that provides property tax refunds for residential property rendered uninhabitable as a result of a catastrophic event

8.     Provide tangible personal property relief and allow n on-residential properties rendered uninhabitable to receive property tax refunds

9.     Get Congress to pass a Disaster Tax Relief Act that includes provisions from past packages, including elements such as an Employee Retention Credit, an enhanced casualty loss deduction, and other relief provisions

Other Resources

Florida TaxWatch Statement on Hurricane Ian Recovery

Community Involvement

/ Categories: Research, Budget/Approps

BudgetWatch: New General Revenue Estimates Add $7 Billion for the Next Budget

The latest estimating conference, held March 13, increased the estimate for FY2022-23 and FY2023-24 by a total of $7.06 billion. This is more good news for legislators who are currently in the process of developing the next state budget (FY2023-24.) Despite a gloomier new national and state economic forecast, which includes a mild recession and continued worries includinginflation and housing, GR collections have exceeded expectations by almost $3 billion in the first six months since the August 2022 estimates. Actual collections have now bested estimates for 30 consecutive months. The forecast continues this through the last four months of the current fiscal year. As a result, the GR estimate for FY 2022-23 was increased by $4.27 billion. And while the conference is predicting a “downshift” next year that will reduce collections from this year’s windfall level, the new estimate for FY2023-24 was still increased by $2.78 billion from the August estimate. This extends a period of remarkable revenue growth for Florida. In just three years since the pandemic-reduced collections of FY 2019-20, revenues have increased by almost $15 billion to an estimated $46.3 billion in FY 2022-23--growth of 47.5 percent. Anticipated collections for this year are 38.4 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Florida’s hardworking taxpayers have numerous challenges impacting their pocketbooks--inflation, housing costs, and skyrocketing insurance premiums. Florida TaxWatch will continue to monitor and analyze budget developments and ensure that taxpayers best interests are being served. We will continue to work closely with elected officials to ensure that some of these tax dollars are returned to those that paid them, help avoid wasteful spending, and improve the process for selecting member projects.

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